Germany Legalizes Child Marriages Performed Under Sharia Law

German Federal Court rules weddings accepted under German law if performed 'legally'

Faiz, 40 (left), and Ghulam (right), 11, sit in her home prior to their wedding in the rural Damarda Village, Afghanistan

The German Federal Court has ruled that child marriages will be legal in Germany, provided they are carried out "legally" under Sharia Law.

The bombshell new ruling could have implications on the way child marriages, conducted legally under laws from overseas, are treated in the country.

Despite a new law in 2017 to raise the legal age for marriage to 18 in Germany, this latest verdict will mean the age limit will only apply to those who "follow" German law.

The court decreed that all future cases of child marriage must be examined on an individual basis to determine whether they were performed under international or religious laws, rather than have a blanket ban on adults marrying children in the country.

The ruling comes from a controversial case involving a Syrian man who was separated from his underage "wife" when he arrived with her in Germany as asylum seekers in August 2015.

The marriage was declared legal in Germany by the court due to the fact that the man married the child under Sharia Law in his home country.

Tahani (front), 8, is seen with her husband Majed, 27, and her former classmate Ghada (rear), 8, and her husband outside their home in Hajjah, Yemen

According to Breitbart, the pair, cousins, were married in February 2015 while the man was aged 21 and the girl aged only 14 in a marriage procedure that was done under sharia legally in Syria.

The marriage was considered invalid by German authorities, however, where the marriage age was 16 at the time.

After his “wife” had been taken into separate care due to her status as a minor, the Syrian man complained to German courts which initially granted him weekend access to her with a district court claiming the marriage had not been forced.

The case was then sent up to the Federal Supreme Court which has now ruled that the marriage between the pair should be examined on the basis of its legal status in Syria.

Such cases in the future should be looked at on an individual basis, the court said, instead of a blanket refusal to recognize them — as was the procedure previously.